FPGA-based frameworks speed blockchain processing

Interest in using blockchain technology is increasing exponentially, from embedded systems designers to enterprise-level institutions, but expertise in this technology is currently “thin on the ground.” In order to address this problem, the folks at Accelor.io have been working on a suite of FPGA-based solutions and services. Accelor.io emerged from stealth mode to unveil two FPGA-based frameworks — the Accelor Performance Engine (APE) and the Accelor Security Architecture (ASA) — that have been architected to optimize blockchain-centric computing performance and decentralized security.

The APE overcomes barriers to scalability by providing the dedicated hardware infrastructure required to optimize the computation of intensive cryptography, storage of distributed ledger data, and transaction relays over networks. APE has been tested using Hyperledger Fabric in a live environment, where it sustained 10-times-greater end-to-end throughput against software-only implementations; also, APE has a theoretical limit upwards of 200,000 TPS.

Meanwhile, the ASA removes the most harmful threats endemic to CPU-based networking. These threats, such as Spectre, Meltdown, and Foreshadow (see also “Cloudborne Punches Hole in Cloud Security”), have been reported as critical in all of the latest Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) of commercial processors. They enable malicious actors to read the most sensitive information, such as private cryptographic keys, which is detrimental to the development of blockchains and secure cloud computing environments. ASA leverages an FPGA-based confidential computing model that gives users ultimate authority over their hardware, affording them the flexibility to choose where to place their root of trust, thereby achieving a more decentralized hardware solution.

Accelor’s newly announced FPGA-based frameworks are intended to furnish a full suite of tools, techniques, and IP to optimize performance throughput, privacy preservation, database management, network latency, and smart-contract execution, thereby removing roadblocks currently holding back Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) providers that service the DApps being developed in the industry. In the future, the company intends to address the entire spectrum of operations required by decentralized protocols. For more information, visit www.accelor.io.